@cspanofficial: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Friday said he is standing by the spending deal he cut with Senate Democrats despite opposition from his hard-right flank. “After weeks of hard-fought negotiations, we achieved a strong topline agreement that allows our Appropriations Committee and all those who work on this to complete the appropriations process. It’s an important part of keeping the government running,” the speaker told reporters in a brief statement. “Our topline agreement remains,” he said. “We are getting our next steps together and we are working toward a robust appropriations process, so stay tuned for all that to develop.” On Sunday, congressional leaders announced a $1.66 trillion topline spending agreement for FY 2024 that largely mirrors the levels set last year in the debt limit deal negotiated by President Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Republican hardliners have been pushing the speaker to renegotiate the deal to include steeper spending cuts, but Republican appropriators and moderates have been urging him to stick to the agreement. “In keeping up with my commitment to bring members into the legislative process, I’ve spoken and received feedback this week from many members all across the Republican Conference. That’s a very important part of this,” the speaker said. “When I became speaker, I committed to decentralizing the speaker’s office and making this a member-driven process.” It will take more time to finalize the appropriations bills, so a stopgap funding measure will be needed to prevent a government shutdown with the Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 deadlines looming. It’s not clear how long of a continuing resolution (CR) congressional leaders will pursue. #speakerofthehouse #mikejohnson #governmentshutdown #cspan

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Friday 12 January 2024 18:32:15 GMT